Machine for coating or impregnating fabrics with rubber or the like.



WITNESS 2 flay 1. KEARNS. MACHINE FOR COATING 0R IMPREGNATING FABRICS WITH RUBBER OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I0, 1915.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS SHEET 1.

IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNE YS.

.I. KEARNS.

I DEC.10,I915. 4 1,179,634. Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

v 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JOHN KEARNS, OF CHICOPEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIG'NOR TO FIS-K RUBBER COMPANY, OF CHICOPEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR COATING OR IMPREGNATING FABRICS WITH RUBBER OR THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

Application filed December 10, 1915. Serial No. 66,099.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KEARNS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicopee Falls, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Coating or Impregnating Fabric with Rubber or the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for coating or impregnating fabric stock with rubber or the'like and particularly to improved apparatus especially designed for use in the tire industry for the manufacture of friction cloth.

The object of the "invention is to provide an apparatus of the class described, which comprises a series of stacked pressure rolls,

each arranged to revolve at different pe-' ripheral speeds relative to the adjacent roll, and devices to guide webs of fabric stock between adjacent rolls, the latter adapted to receive adjacent the bight of the rolls a bank of rubber stock, whereby the latter may be thoroughly rubbed into the web of fabric stock by the relatively high speed .roll, the apparatus being particularly characterized by an arrangement to simultaneously coat a plurality of webs with a minimum number of pressure rolls.

Referring to the drawings as illustrating a preferred practical embodiment of the invention Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof.

Referring to these represents the frame of the apparatus and centrally arranged therein are pressure rolls 1, 2, and 3. These rolls are stacked vertically one above the other and are revoluble in suitable boxes 4, 5, and 6, respectively, as shown in Fig. 1; The boxes are slidable in frame A and are arranged for vertical adjustment by screws 7, 8, and 9 and wedge blocks 10 and 11 in anobvious and wellknown manner. Any other suitable means may be employed to adjust the rolls vertically and apply pressure thereto, and the particular means described is chosen simply for the purpose of illustration. The rolls 1, 2 and 3 are driven by the intermeshing gear train shown in Fig. 1 from a main driving pulley 12. The gear on the intermediate roll 2 is larger than that on either drawings in detail, A

higher speed than the intermediate roll 2 for a purpose which will later appear.

Rotatably mounted on opposite sides of the stacked rolls are rolls 13 and 14 which are arranged, respectively, to receive uncoated and coated fabric stock. A web of uncoated fabric from the roll 13 is guided by idle rolls 16 between the rolls 1 and 2 and partially around the latter. Similarly a second web 17 from a fabric stock roll 18 is guided by idle rolls 19 between therolls 2 and 3, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. These webs 15 and 17 after leaving the pressure rolls, then pass to rolls 14 and 20 and are wound up thereon. The rolls 14 and 20 are simply wind up rolls and take up the slack in the webs 15 and 17, which are driven by the intermediate roll 2 in the direction of the arrows, shown in Fig. 2. These wind up rolls may be driven in, any suitable manner, such as by slip belts 21 and 22. The drive for these rolls has not been illustrated in detail since drives for wind up rolls are generally well understood by those skilled in the art.

In operation, rolls 13' and 18, having fabric stock to be coated are placed in posirolls. The bank of stock 24 may be fed to v the bight of the roll by a spring pressed pusher trough then started, and the rubber stock in the banks 23 and 24 is ground into the fabric webs 15 and 17, respectively, by the rolls 1 and 3. The webs 15 and 17 are driven at a linear speed corresponding to the peripheral speed of the intermediate roll 2 while the upper and lower rolls 1 and 3 travel at relatively higher speeds' The latter rolls, therefore, take rubber stock from the banks 23 and 24 and thoroughly rub the same into and over the surface of the fabric. The webs 15 and 17 thus coated with rubber are thereafter carried over their up thereon.

if desired. The machine is plurality of webs of fabric.

Thus, improved apparatus has been provided which is arranged to coat fabric stock with rubber and is characterized by its arrangement to operate simultaneously on a It is recognized that modifications may be made in the specific structure described for illustrative purposes without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims rather than by the specific foregoing description of the'preferred embodimen What I claim is 1. Apparatus for coating or impregnating fabric with rubber or the like, comprising, in combination, a series of stacked I pressure rolls, driving means therefor arranged to drive contiguous rolls at different speeds, and devices adjacent the bights of a plurality of contiguous rolls to sure rolls, drivingmeans therefor arranged to drive contiguous rolls at different speeds, stock rolls for fabric to be coated, wind up rolls for coated fabric, and devices adjacent each bight of aplurality of contiguous rolls to guide a web from a stock roll therethrough and thence to'the wind up rolls, the relatively fast traveling roll and the web arranged to form a converging entrance to receive a bank of rubber stock, whereby the latter may be rubbed into the web and the I web coated by the calendering action of the high speed roll, all constructed and arranged for the simultaneous coating of a plurality of webs.

3. Apparatus for coating or impregnatingfabric with rubber, comprising, in comguide a web of fabric between said rolls, the bight bination, upper, lower, and intermediate partially around the latter and other devices to guide a second web between the lower and intermediate rolls and partially around the latter, the upper and lower rolls arranged to form with their respective webs of fabric converging entrances to receive banks of rubber stock, the latter adapted to be rubbed into the .webs by the fast traveling rolls and web coated or impregnated with a calendering action thereby, all constructed and arranged for the simultaneous coating with a minimum number of rolls of two webs of fabric. 1

4. Apparatus for coating fabric with rubber or the like, comprising, in combination, upper, lower, and intermediate pressure rolls stacked one aboveanother in contiguous relation, driving means for said rolls arranged to drive the upper and lower rolls at a greater speed than the intermediate roll, a fabric stock roll for the upper and intermediate rolls, a second fabric stock rollfor the lower and intermediate rolls, devices to guide a web from one of the stock rolls between the upper and intermediate roll andpartially around the latter, other devices to guide a web from the second stock roll between the lower and intermediate rolls and partially around the latter,- wind up rolls for each web, and means to guide the webs from the pressure rolls to sald wind up rolls, the upper and lower pressure rolls arranged to form with theirrespective Webs of fabric converging entrances to receive banks of rubber stock, the latter adapted to be rubbed into the webs with a calendering action" by the high speed pressure rolls, whereby both webs may be simultaneously treated with a minimum number of rolls.

JOHN KEARNS. 

